“YMCA” and Trump

At the Trump rally on Sunday before his inauguration, the Village People were on stage with him, singing their iconic song, “YMCA,” which has become a standard at Trump rallies and which Trump does a little dance movement to.

How ironic that this gay anthem has become so connected with Trump.  In response to other comments regarding this, the head of the Village People, who wrote the song, said that it was never intended to refer to gays.  He said that the line about hanging out with the boys was an expression that Blacks used; it has nothing to do with gay cruising and sex at YMCAs throughout the country.

How ridiculous and mendacious.  First, it is well-known among gays that YMCAs in many cities across the country were and are hot spots for gay cruising and sex.  So the song title and lyrics definitely are consistent with the meaning that made the song a gay anthem in the late 70s and 80s.

Second, supporting its gay context is the look of the Village People.  You have a collection of macho stereotypes, most associated with gay fantasy.  There is the leatherman/biker, the cowboy, the construction worker, the policeman, and the sailor.  The only one not known to me as a gay fantasy is the Native American.  Not only are they gay fantasy characters but when they pose for photos, all buff muscles, they hit another gay fantasy.

Then there is the name of the group, the Village People.  The village is an area of New York City that was the center of gay social life in the second half of the 20th century.  It was the site of the Stonewall riots, which were the start of the gay liberation movement.  Gay bars were concentrated there and at night the sidewalks were filled with gays. The village was NYC’s answer to the Castro in San Francisco.

Put it all together, and the claim that “YMCA” had nothing to do with gays is ludicrous.  That neither Trump, nor anyone around him, nor his supporters were aware of this connection says much about their disconnect with aspects of our culture beyond their own; they are clueless.  Even if the song at its conception had nothing to do with gay life, the knowledge that it had become a gay anthem would make the song anathema to most of the MAGA world.